Which term best describes a nurse who can examine their own beliefs, values, and cultural practices?

Choice A reason: Hysterical crying may indicate emotional distress but does not necessarily constitute a behavioral crisis unless it escalates to danger. It reflects an emotional response, not an immediate threat requiring urgent intervention, making it less severe than harm threats.

Choice B reason: Making threats to harm self and others indicates a behavioral crisis, signaling imminent danger due to a mental health condition. This requires immediate intervention to ensure safety, aligning with psychiatric emergency criteria, making this the correct choice.

Choice C reason: Nervous pacing suggests anxiety but does not inherently indicate a behavioral crisis. It lacks the immediate risk of harm to self or others, requiring monitoring but not urgent intervention, making this choice incorrect for a crisis scenario.

Choice D reason: Being wrapped in a blanket during group therapy suggests withdrawal or discomfort, not a behavioral crisis. It does not indicate imminent danger or severe behavioral dysregulation, making it an incorrect choice compared to explicit harm threats.

Choice A reason: Dismissing the patient’s feelings by saying they will leave is non-therapeutic, as it invalidates their emotions. Therapeutic communication requires empathy and exploration of feelings, not reassurance that may feel dismissive, as it fails to address the patient’s underlying concerns, making this choice incorrect.

Choice B reason: Encouraging effort with a promise of discharge is overly optimistic and may pressure the patient, ignoring their emotional state. Therapeutic responses focus on understanding feelings, not conditional reassurance, which can undermine trust in psychiatric care, making this response non-therapeutic and incorrect.

Choice C reason: Generalizing the patient’s feelings as common minimizes their unique experience, reducing therapeutic engagement. It fails to explore the patient’s specific concerns or foster a trusting nurse-patient relationship, which is critical in mental health care, making this response non-therapeutic and incorrect.

Choice D reason: Reflecting the patient’s statement by exploring perceived lack of progress demonstrates active listening and empathy, key to therapeutic communication. It encourages the patient to elaborate on feelings, fostering trust and insight, aligning with psychiatric nursing principles, making this the most therapeutic and correct